Is it worth it to do this?

[Sebastian]

Hello All!

I wanted to ask a question in regards to my car because anytime I talk to some average person I never get any legit advice.

Situation:
Bought a car 14 months ago. It is a 2012 Scion TC, and yes I bought this before I stumbled across this website :)

I have $8,300 left on the loan at 2.1% interest.

Here is the challenge. After having this car for about one week. Some F@#&*^ ahole key'd my car. One long pin stripe from the front to the back. I didn't really do anything about it because I didn't want to blow a bunch of money getting this fixed. I used a at home kit to patch it up a little bit, but it's still pretty noticeable.

So with the car having 12K miles on it and that key mark. I'm hoping I could get 15k for it. I'd have to sell it on my own though and not to a dealer which I'm not super comfortable with that.

My Question:
Should I go through with trying to sell the Scion and pick up an old used Civic for 3K or so? I'd really like to do it because then it would pay off the remaining balance of the loan and allow me to throw a few more grand in my investments :)

Or

Should I keep and just have the car for the next 20 years because I'm sure this Scion will last forever.

Any advice would be appreciate! As well as tips and tricks for trying to sell a car myself. I'm also skeptical of buying a cheap used car. Any ideas to help comfort me in making that decision?

[Micheal]

Craigslist has taken alot of the awkwardness out of buying and selling used cars.  Take lots of pics when posting it.  Another thing to do might be to try and fix the stripe better to up the asking price, or be prepared for people to low ball you because of it.  To buy a used car, use the things you see "wrong" about the car to lower the price, negotiate it as best you can.  Things like old tires, bad paint, ect.  are no big deal as long as the car runs and drives well, but can lower the price.  And pay attention real close and ask lots of questions when meeting in person as you can get info they do not want to give you (also do a google search with the persons name and close cities, as this can tell you if the car has been in a wreck), the person selling the car is likely in the same situation as you are about selling their car themselves.

[olivia]

How much would it cost to fix the keyed "stripe"?  Have you gotten an estimate?  It might not be that much. 

What is the rest of your financial picture like?  Do you have any other debt?  If you don't have any other debt I'd probably pay off the loan ASAP and keep the car. 

[Sebastian]

How much would it cost to fix the keyed "stripe"?  Have you gotten an estimate?  It might not be that much. 

What is the rest of your financial picture like?  Do you have any other debt?  If you don't have any other debt I'd probably pay off the loan ASAP and keep the car.

Na I don't really have any other debts. I mean I have 280 left on a best buy CC that will be paid off in a couple months. It's 0 interest right now so I'm not too concerned, and that'll be the last purchase on that card :)

As far as other financials I have 7K for an emergency fund and 4K in 401k/roth ira so far. Nothing too nuts, but I think I'm heading in the right direction. I just thought I could give myself a big boost by getting rid of the car.

It's a sweet car, but it's honestly too much car for me. I do enjoy the hands free talking through the speakers but whatever I can live without it :)

[theSchmett]

What is your potential for paying down the debt quickly?

Also what did you pay for it? Does it have a warranty? How does it run? I know its a Scion/Toyota but they are all individuals.

[Sebastian]

What is your potential for paying down the debt quickly?

Also what did you pay for it? Does it have a warranty? How does it run? I know its a Scion/Toyota but they are all individuals.

well if i stopped throwing all my money into investments i could probably kill that payment in 6 months. i think out the door it was 20k after taxes and such. it has a 2 year warranty so about 10 months left? runs great.. it's a 6speed and is fun

[MissStache]

If you get it fixed, how much could you sell the car for?

Since you don't own the car outright, I assume you have full coverage on the vehicle.  What's your comprehensive deductible?  A comprehensive claim won't raise your rates because you aren't at fault, so it may be worth it to file through your insurance.

If it ends up being below your deductible, you'll at least get an estimate out of it and pay out of pocket.  It may not be that much to fix, depending on how bad the scratch is.

[Sebastian]

If you get it fixed, how much could you sell the car for?

Since you don't own the car outright, I assume you have full coverage on the vehicle.  What's your comprehensive deductible?  A comprehensive claim won't raise your rates because you aren't at fault, so it may be worth it to file through your insurance.

If it ends up being below your deductible, you'll at least get an estimate out of it and pay out of pocket.  It may not be that much to fix, depending on how bad the scratch is.

Yeah honestly I wasn't that motivated to get it fixed because in my mind I'm thinking "oh well, it's my car though and i'll have it forever. So who cares"

Just goes to show much little I care about the car and why I should be driving around some old car haha

[Rebecca Stapler]

If you get it fixed, how much could you sell the car for?

Since you don't own the car outright, I assume you have full coverage on the vehicle.  What's your comprehensive deductible?  A comprehensive claim won't raise your rates because you aren't at fault, so it may be worth it to file through your insurance.

If it ends up being below your deductible, you'll at least get an estimate out of it and pay out of pocket.  It may not be that much to fix, depending on how bad the scratch is.

Yeah honestly I wasn't that motivated to get it fixed because in my mind I'm thinking "oh well, it's my car though and i'll have it forever. So who cares"

Just goes to show much little I care about the car and why I should be driving around some old car haha

I think your ability to get insurance to coverage the stripe depends on whether you fixing it made it worse or it has weather damage from it being repaired improperly. Maybe a first step towards selling it is to make an appointment with your insurance adjuster to see if / how much they would cover for the repair.

[theSchmett]

Another question - do you need a car? Long commute to work or live in a car-centric area?

IMHO, purchasing an older car in a private purchase that isn't pristine and comes with tons of records comes with some uncertainty.  Buying a Civic, less so if you can tell it hasn't been trashed around.

All things being equal, if you can keep the tC for a long time, and you require reliable, everyday transportation, don't turn a stable situation into a potential problem.

If you don't have a "mission critical" need for a car, then go ahead and reduce your costs to better match your level of dependence.

My wife and I have been thinking about selling our 2010 Fit Sport. A slightly off-mustache vehicle in that it has paddle shifters and a nav system built in (we wanted stability control - the rest was part of the package so I was told), but we get these postcards in the mail from Honda dealers saying they have buyers lined up and want to make an offer. 

I would see what the offer is, but the car runs great, and my wife has a long commute, so I wouldn't want to trade down in potential reliability.  Also, if used Fits are that hard to find, what am I going to replace it with?

[rtrnow]

@SethBahookey -  It all depends. Despite buying new it's a practical car so no desperate need to sell. However, I was in a similar situation though with an even less mustachian car though it was paid off. I sold and bought a used fit. I too missed the luxury/connivence features. I solved most of that will a $130 radio that added BT and let's me stream Pandora. If you decide to sell CL and/or autotrader is the way to go to get the most money.

@theSchmett - every car dealer sends those ads. They just want to get you to buy a new car from them. You'll NEVER get a good price compared to selling it yourself. I got the same ads driving a honda accord, mazda 3, and infiniti. Fits are not at all hard to find. They hold their value well though so may cost more than similar cars from other brands. 

[Mazzinator]

$15k scion
-$8.3k loan
-$3k civic
= $3.7k added to retirement

Yes, i would do it.

[theSchmett]

@rtrnow Good to know about the postcards. We had never gotten these with our previous bought new car, a 99 Corolla with manual trans.

And I hear you on a new radio for the fit! We haven't done that yet, instead picked up a Motorola roadster hands free device that clips to the visor but the radio/nav unit is the pits.